Hemophobia
by 13bookworm
Summary: Hemophobia - fear of blood. Clarion is found in her study crying with blood all over her hands and a dead sparrowman on the floor. She doesn't remember anything and Milori will do anything to help her, but now she's being haunted by the memory.
1. Chapter 1

**Hemophobia- the fear of blood**

* * *

Clarion stood staring at her red stained hands, she started crying as she began slowly taking steps back towards the wall. A sparrowman lied there on the floor of her study, covered in _blood._ She couldn't stand to see it and she wanted to scream, throw up, and cry all at once. Clarion just wanted it off her hands and out of sight. She kept trying to wipe it, but it only seemed to get worse.

There was a sudden knock at the door, "Queen Clarion, is everything all right?" There were guards at her door, they must have heard her crying, but she couldn't let them in and have them see a dead sparrowman at her feet! Plus, the blood on her hands would probably make them believe that she had killed him.

It was all a blur and she didn't really remember what had happened, it was all so quick. All Clarion knew was that there was crimson blood belonging to him on her hands. Had she actually been the one that killed him? She didn't even recognize him! Either it was because of _it,_ or she just didn't know him. Which would have been odd considering she knows every fairy in Pixie Hollow. She tried to jerk back the tears when she spoke to them, "It's all right, I'm… _fine_." Clarion started choking on her words.

"Would you like us to request to Lord of Winter for you?" they could obviously tell that there was indeed something wrong.

"N-_no_!" her stutter finally gave it away. The guards burst inside to see Clarion shaking and staring at her hands. Her hands slowly pointed over to the sparrowman. Her face was pale and her eyes could only remain on the _blood_.

One of the guards went and examined him. He let out a gasp, "Captain, he's dead."

"Queen Clarion, what happened here?" When he turned around she was gone. "Queen Clarion?"

She was now running through the tree, crying. The fairies who passed by, watched in amazement. They could see the crimson liquid on her hands as she zipped by. Clarion was then running out of the tree and past Milori who suddenly caught her hand.

"Clarion? What's going on? Are you all right?" She was crying and trying to pull herself free from him.

"Queen Clarion!" Milori looked over to see a troop of guards flying towards them, "Guards find her!" In that moment she slip free and was running again. Guards rushed past him and after her once more. He was frozen as he suddenly lifted his hand to see it covered in blood. _Clarion!_

She was running with no where to go through the Winter Woods. She had managed to lose the guards, but now she was lost. "No, no ,no! Milori please! No!" she was mumbling to herself, out of breath. _I didn't kill him! I didn't kill him! I didn't kill him! I didn't kill him! _She just wanted to scream and cry!

Then suddenly she could hear the guards running through the trees. _Oh no!_ Clarion picked up the pace on her running and she started getting even more lost. Now she couldn't tell which direction the guards were coming from. Clarion didn't know what to do, she thought she saw the shadows of figures running around. Everything was spinning and she was about to pass out when a hand covered her mouth.

Out of no where Clarion was staring at Milori and he was holding his finger close to her mouth. "Shh, it's okay." They both heard sudden footsteps nearby and he pulled her close. The footsteps came deathly close and Milori held in his breath, but then they disappeared further into the woods. He let out a sigh, "Clarion, are you okay?"

"I think so," she was still freaking out and clinging to him.

"Okay, why are you covered in blood?" She started crying. "Shh, calm down, it's okay. I know you can't stand blood and that it terrifies you, but I'm just making sure that you aren't hurt."

"I don't know. I don't remember anything," she was shaking as she stared at her hands.

He let out a sigh, "It's okay, we'll figure this out. Come on, let's clean you up." Milori hugged her close and she cried for a good while. The blood drying on her hands began to sting. So he took her to a clearing where there was a willow tree. He knew exactly how to make her feel better.

"Milori, what are we doing here?"

"Trust me, this will help. It's certainly helped me."

"With what?"

"Stress." He moved aside the leaves and they entered the tree. It was warm, and the air felt thick and humid. All around them were hot springs with steam wafting off of them. Milori used to come here after he broke his wing. He stumbled upon it one afternoon when he fell off his owl once. The heat got rid of the tension in his back. So occasionally he would come to relax after a long day.

A half hour later their hands were clean and Milori was dozing off in the warm water with his head leaned over the edge. Across from him Clarion sat there sleeping, leaned against the wall. She had fallen asleep almost instantly, but Milori tried to stay awake. Just so he could check on her to make sure she was really okay. At some point he got out and dried off, knowing that if he had stayed in there he would certainly fall asleep.

Then Clarion awoke freaking out again. When she got out Milori wrapped a towel around her to dry off and pulled her close. "Clarion, what's wrong?"

"I remember what happened," she started crying again.

"It's okay, I'm here. Don't be afraid."

"The sparrowman came into my study, he didn't look well and he was holding his hands to his side. He was screaming in pain, telling me that he needed my help. Then he move his hands and he was covered in blood. He fell to the floor, and I didn't know what to do and I couldn't stop the blood and and and," she shut her eyes tight and started shaking, "There was so much blood!"

Milori knew that she was in shock, she had tried to forget what had happened. All he could do was try and calm her down. _But why was that sparrowman bleeding?_

* * *

**Next Chapter: Clarion goes back to her duties, but is haunted by the memory of the dead sparrowman. Meanwhile everyone is in a scramble to find out who this sparrowman is and why he was bleeding.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next few hours things were turning back to normal. Well at least as normal as they could be. Word of the dead sparrowman spread around Pixie Hollow and beyond like wild fire. Milori had kept Clarion hidden in the Ice Palace all night because fairies were beginning to ask questions and possibly think that their Queen killed someone.

This all made Clarion overload on stress and made her feel sick to her stomach. Thus she would not eat much unless Milori begged her to. Even then she had only had a few spoonfuls of soup. Eventually he gave up entirely due to his own grumbling stomach and the exhaustion that had taken over his body. Milori fell asleep with his queen wrapped protectively in his arms.

Clarion on the other hand did not sleep. The fact that she wasn't even tired probably had to do with the restful nap she had taken earlier. So Milori let her be and didn't even bother asking her to at least attempt to sleep. As long as she stayed with him tonight she could do as she pleased. For most of the night Clarion lied there, wrapped in Milori's tight embrace, alone to her thoughts.

_How could I possibly not know that sparrowman! I know every fairy in Pixie Hollow and he definitely wasn't a winter fairy! So who was he?_

At some point Clarion fell under the taunting spell known as sleep too. Her dreams were peaceful, just like they had been when she was in the hot springs. They weren't of anything in particular, just random memories of happy days in the hollow. This included the night Clarion and Milori had first met.

_Clarion stood swirling her wine as she listened to the conversation she had been engaged with by some diplomats. It certainly wasn't interesting, and it appeared that all anyone else was doing was talking too. Tomorrow she was supposed to be crowned queen, so this was like some sort of pre-coronation ball, not much of a ball though considering there practically wasn't any music playing and there definitely wasn't any dancing._

_The queen-to-be searched the room for a sign of anything that could possibly be interesting, from the balcony above. So far she had no luck, considering even the music fairies were bored. Clarion wanted to do something, but leaving the diplomats and other important guests and commit herself to childish activities. Such as dancing when obviously no one else was._

_As she continued to examine the room, someone caught her attention. A sparrowman had just entered the hall. He was extremely late which caught the attention of many fairies on the main floor. Many took a pause from their conversation and looked over to see what had happened. A few even approached this mysterious sparrowman and spoke with him as if he were someone that was important to know._

_Clarion had never seen this sparrowman before, or even someone that was remotely like him. He wore a teal suit that stood out compared to the blues and greens that didn't even come close to its state of awe. His silver looking hair shined in the light and his skin was as pale as clouds. Young fairies quickly surrounded him, ready to swoon over him._

_Who was this sparrowman and how come every fairy knew who he was, but not her?_

_Suddenly he turned in her direction and the two made instant eye contact. The sparrowman turned back to the fairies surrounding him, but kept staring at Clarion out of the corner of his eyes. The queen-to-be forgot the conversation she had once been a part of and watched him. He smirked and every fairy around him nearly dropped to the floor. A glint appeared in his eyes that Clarion didn't understand, but it signified that she was what he wanted and he was going to get her._

_Having been put in a small trance, causing her to stare blankly below, she didn't notice him slip away from the crowd. When her focus returned, Clarion was surprised to find him missing. He gaze quickly darted across the room, but there was no sign of him. She didn't think to look at the stairs beside her that connected the balcony and the main floor._

_There was a tap on her shoulder that cause her to almost spill her wine. Clarion turned to see the sparrowman suddenly standing behind her. He was even more handsome up close. Clarion wasn't allowed to think that though because it had been burned into her brain that the interest in sparrowman is wrong and unfitting for a queen to be thinking about._

_The sparrowman bowed, "Your majesty." He held out his hand, requesting her own without words. She politely did so, letting him have the chance to kiss the back of her hand._

_"Might I ask who you are?"_

_"Milori, Lord of the winter fairies and all things that may pertain to the season. You yourself need no introduction everyone knows you, your majesty."_

_"You appear to be known by many as well."_

_"That is true, but it's nothing compared to your stature. Now, may I ask the queen-to-be if she would care for a dance."_

_Clarion was at a loss for words. Everything froze. Nowhere in a million years had she imagined being asked for a dance by a sparrowman like Milori. She was actually shocked by this and it cause her to gasp and drop her glass of wine. It shattered, causing the blood-red liquid to go everywhere. _

_Now the whole room was silent and everyone was staring at her. Milori looked bewildered, almost worried. Someone proceeded to call for servants to clean the mess. _

_Blood began to trickle down her finger from the apparent cut she had gotten when the glass dropped. Clarion stared at the liquid with a look of horror upon her face. She could never stand blood and right then was no exception. Seconds later a wave of nausea flooded her body and the room began to spin as she fell. _

_Screams rang out. Milori successfully caught her before she landed in the glass, but anything after that was a blur._

Clarion awoke to Milori staring at her, obviously concerned, "Are you okay? You were shaking."

"Yes, I was just dreaming of the night we met."

"That certainly was a mess."

"Yes, first I froze when you asked me a simple question, I ruined a perfectly good wine glass, and cut… my… finger." She stared at her hand a moment.

"Clarion?"

"I think I met that sparrowman before…"

"Who?" Instantly Milori felt like an idiot and regret asking.

"The dead sparrowman in my study," tears instantly began flooding from her eyes as a faint, and seemingly insignificant memory came back to her, "I met him on the night of my pre-coronation ball. He was the one who bandaged up my hand."

Clarion fell silent and buried her face in Milori's chest. She could feel the rise and fall of it as he let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around her once more.


End file.
